Mention when We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam.’ They prostrated except Satan, who was one of the jinn. He disobeyed the command of his Lord. Then do you take him and his descendants as allies instead of Me though they are your enemies? How an evil substitute for the wrongdoers is!
I did not make them witness the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor their own creation; I do not take the misleaders as helpers.
Mention the day when He will say, ‘Call those whom you alleged that they were My partners.’ Then they will call them, and they will not respond. And We will make between them a place of destruction.
The sinners will see the Fire, and will be certain that they will enter it. They will find no escape from it. [Quran Surah al-Kahf: 50-53]
Tafsir
The Trial of Satan
After the previous ayat referred to the horrors of the Day of Judgment, commandment not to obey Satan and his followers comes, showing the painful end of those who follow him and his followers.
Mention when We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam.’ They prostrated except Satan, who was one of the jinn. He disobeyed the command of his Lord. Then do you take him and his descendants as allies instead of Me though they are your enemies? How an evil substitute for the wrongdoers is! [50]
The ayah reminds human beings of the old enmity that Satan has for them in order to warn them of his evil temptations and urge them not to obey him.
O Messenger! Mention to the people when We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam (prostration as a sign of respect and veneration, not a sign of worship.)’
The angels obeyed the command of Allah and prostrated themselves before Adam. However, Satan, who was one of the jinn, disobeyed the command of Allah and refused to prostrate before Adam so he deserved the curse of Allah, Exalted is He.
(They prostrated except Satan, who was one of the jinn. He disobeyed the command of his Lord.)
The scholars differ about whether Satan belongs to the jinn or the angels. They have two opinions on this matter. The first is that Satan belongs to the jinn due to the explicit meaning of this ayah. In addition, Satan has offspring, and the angels have no offspring, he disbelieves in Allah and the angels are the messengers of Allah so they are infallible and never disobey Allah.
The second opinion is that Satan belongs to the angels, and the ayah states that ‘he was one of the jinn’ because he belongs to a group of angels called ‘the jinn’. And Allah knows best.
Among the scholars who believes that Satan belongs to the jinn is Imam ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him. He said that since Satan’s origin is fire, he was influenced by his nature. On the other hand, the angels were created from light, so they did what agrees with their nature. Satan was mentioned with the angels because he tried to imitate acts of obedience done by the angels.
The ayah is concluded with disapproval, censure, and astonishment as there are people who still obey and follow the footsteps of Satan and his followers though it is clear that he is their sworn enemy.
Then do you take him and his descendants as allies instead of Me though they are your enemies? How an evil substitute for the wrongdoers is!
O children of Adam! After it has become clear to you that Satan disobeys Allah, do you obey and follow his footsteps?
Undoubtedly, any person, who obeys and follow the footsteps of Satan, he exchanges what is good with what is evil, and favors misguidance over following the path of guidance!
The statement makes it clear that it is impossible that a wise and prudent person will follow the footsteps of Satan. He knows that that the end of Satan’s followers is loss.
How an evil substitute for the wrongdoers is!
However, there are people who still obey Satan. Those who obey him are wrongdoers who substitute evil for good and misguidance for guidance.
Then the ayat mention what denotes the perfect ability and knowledge of Allah and the powerlessness of the false gods are worshipped besides Allah.
I did not make them witness the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor their own creation; I do not take the misleaders as helpers. [51]
Allah did not make Satan and his offspring witness the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor their own creation. Allah, the Omnipotence, created the creatures without the help of anyone. Therefore, how people worship Satan and his offspring besides Allah though Allah is the only Creator of everything!
The ayah demonstrates the perfect ability and knowledge of Allah, and that Satan and whatever are worshipped besides Allah do not deserve worship.
I do not take the misleaders as helpers.
Allah, the Omnipotence, never seeks help from the misguided nor the guided ones. However, He states that He never has helpers from among the misguided ones to severely criticize those who worship other gods besides Him and whoever acts like them.
Then a scene from the Day of Judgment is presented, showing the evil end of those who worshipped others besides Allah.
Mention the day when He will say, ‘Call those whom you alleged that they were My partners.’ Then they will call them, and they will not respond. And We will make between them a place of destruction. [52]
O Messenger! Mention to the people the Day of Judgment. On this day, rebuking the disbelievers, it will be said, ‘Call those, whom you alleged that they were partners of Allah and you worshipped them besides Allah in the worldly life. Can they benefit you, and intercede with Allah on your behalf?’
Then, the disbelievers will call the false gods they worshipped besides Allah in the worldly life. Alas! They will not respond to them let alone benefit or help them.
(And We will make between them a place of destruction.)
A place of destruction, i.e. Hell, will be put between the misleaders and the misled followers. They all will fall in Hell and suffer its severe and lasting torment.
Then the ayat mention the condition of the sinners and disbelievers when they see the Hell.
The sinners will see the Fire, and will be certain that they will enter it. They will find no escape from it. [53]
The sinners and disbelievers will see Hell. They will be certain that they will enter it as they know that their deeds are wicked that deserver severe punishment. They will find no escape from Hell and its torment.
Learned Lessons
• Allah honored human beings as He made the angels prostrate before Adam, the father of human beings (prostration as a sign of respect not worship).
• The angels obeyed the command of Allah. They prostrated before Adam while Satan refused to do so. He disobeyed the command of Allah.
• Refusal of Satan to prostrate before Adam denotes his enmity to Adam and his children. Therefore, Allah severely has criticized those who follow Satan and his followers and make them as their supporters and helpers though they are their sworn enemies. Indeed, an enemy never helps his opponent.
• Refusal of Satan to prostrate before Adam indicates his arrogance, as he believed that he was better than Adam, as he was created from fire whereas Adam was created from clay. Satan believed that fire is better than clay. The disbelievers had the same mentality, as they refused to sit with the poor companions of Messenger Muhammad and believed they were better than them since they were wealthy and the companions of Messenger Muhammad were poor.
• Allah has perfect ability and knowledge. He did not make anyone witness the creation of the heaven and the earth, nor their own creation. Allah is the only true God and He only deserves sincere worship.
• The false deities the disbelievers worship besides Allah in the worldly life will never benefit them. The disbelievers and their false gods will enter Hell and suffer its severe torment.
No comments:
Post a Comment